A Detroit dog named “Courage” gave new meaning to that word for the animal kingdom, as it was found with a heavy chain pierced through its neck that veterinarians thought had been there for weeks.
The Rottweiler/Shepherd mix “came in hooked to a tow chain and a carabiner through the throat,” according to Kristina Rinaldi, the executive director of Detroit Dog Rescue, who added, “Dead weight, right on his skin, right where there are several veins, arteries; fifteen pounds of dead weight. I mean, the carabiner alone weighs almost a pound. This is something you would tow your snowmobile, tow your motorcycle, tow your dirt-bike with. … He was suffering, and I’ve been doing this for ten years, for over ten years, this looks like something you see out of a horror movie. This looks like a nightmare; to see a dog carrying a tow chain through the throat? I mean, that’s pretty horrific.”
Courage had one surgery already to remove the rusted and skin-riddled chain from its throat; a second surgery was planned to replace the skin Courage lost.
Courage is also heartworm positive; the dog’s medical bills will be roughly $10,000.
Cathy Bissel of the Bissel Pet Foundation offered to cover all the medical costs for Courage on one condition — that any funds donated for Courage be used to prosecute whoever maimed Courage in the first place.
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